August is another hot month weather wise, but also for fishing! I still focus on flounder in the beginning of the month, but as we get closer to the end of the month it will be redfish, tarpon and snook. As I have mentioned before, my go-to rig for flounder is a short 12”–16” fluorocarbon 20# leader with just enough weight to hold bottom. A mud minnow is by far the best bait, but unfortunately they have been tough to get this year so I have been using small finger mullet and shrimp and getting a bunch of nice fish!
The tarpon bite has also been really good at the inlet and behind the shrimp boats. I have been getting fish from the 50-lb. range all the way up to the 150-lb. range using live bait, dead bait (bycatch from the shrimp boats), and live oversized mullet. On the live mullet I like to have my customers cast them super high in the air to rolling fish; this stuns the mullet for a second and they flutter on the surface before swimming down and the tarpon seem to go right after them, so give this a try next time you see rolling fish.
I like to also target snook at the end of the month to figure out where they are for the opening of the fall season. With the construction going on at the jetties at Ponce, they are adding rocks and it has the fish super spooked, so I am always finding fish in places I have not previously. So, just like me, put some time in and see where these fish are staging up.
I hope to see you all on the water this month and, as always, say hello if you see us out there!
Capt. Jamie Thrappas
Yellow Dawg Fishing
www.yellowdawgfishing.com